Special Sub-Topic: History Of The Jigsaw Puzzle Click Here To Play: History Of The Jigsaw Puzzle

It is generally agreed that the first jigsaw puzzle was produced around 1760 by John Spilsbury of London. What was his occupation ?

engraver and mapmaker. Spilsbury mounted one of his maps on a sheet of hardwood and cut around the borders of the countries using a fine-bladed marquetry saw. The end product was an educational pastime, designed as an aid in teaching British children their geography !

Up until about 1880, jigsaw puzzles were known as... ?

dissections. With the introduction of the treadle saw in 1880 what had previously been called 'dissections' came to be known as jigsaw puzzles, although they were actually cut by a fretsaw, not a true jigsaw.

Puzzles for adults emerged around 1900. Did they have a guide picture on the box, like children's puzzles did ? Yes or No....

No & N. They were quite a challenge ! If the title was vague or misleading, the true subject could remain a mystery until the last pieces were fitted into place...

In the early 1900's, both wooden and cardboard jigsaw puzzles were available. Which type was preferred by manufacturers and retailers ?

wooden. Manufacturers were convinced that customers would not be interested in 'cheap' cardboard puzzles. Of course, a second motivation on their part was that the profit from a wooden puzzle, which might sell for {$1.00,} was far greater than for a cardboard puzzle, which would usually sell for about 25 cents.

When was the Golden Age of jigsaw puzzles ?

1920's - 1930's. With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, puzzles for adults enjoyed a resurgence of popularity, peaking in early 1933 when sales reached an astounding 10 million per week ! Puzzles offered an escape from the troubled times, as well as an opportunity to succeed in a modest way. Completing a jigsaw puzzle gave a sense of accomplishment that was hard to come by when the unemployment rate was climbing above 25 percent.

In mid-1932 there was a vogue for what type of puzzle ?

advertising puzzles. Retail stores offered free puzzles with the purchase of a toothbrush, a flashlight, or hundreds of other products. What better way to keep a brand name before the public than to have customers working for hours to assemble a picture of the product ?

The autumn of 1932 brought a novel concept, the weekly jigsaw puzzle. The die-cut 'Jig of the Week' retailed for 25 cents and appeared on the news stands on which day of the week ?

Wednesday. People rushed to buy them and to be the first among their friends to solve that week's puzzle. There were dozens of weekly series including 'Picture Puzzle Weekly', 'B-Witching Weekly', 'Jiggers Weekly', and 'Movie Cut-Ups' featuring popular films.

With improvements in lithography and die-cutting, cardboard puzzles became more attractive, especially when which American jigsaw puzzle producer introduced high quality reproductions of fine art on jigsaws ?

Springbok. In 1965 hundreds of Americans struggled to assemble Jackson Pollock's 'Convergence', billed by Springbok as 'the world's most difficult jigsaw puzzle'.

Experimentation with pop-up figure pieces led to what kind of jigsaw puzzle ?

three-dimensional puzzles.

Jigsaw puzzles can now be done online with a computer...True or False ?

True & T.